Solo Parenting! Oh the Horror!

 We have made the decision to let the kids do a little bit more outside the quarantine cave. We mask up and go places. They each have a friend or two they can hang out with (masked and outside) in the neighborhood. Both Harry and Jack have attended (outdoor) birthday parties. Harry got a summer job at the pool. All the kids will play tennis this summer. Cooper and Jack are going to dive. And, all 3 boys are playing Little League.

That's the one-- Little League-- that caused me to have to parent by myself. Ben is coaching Cooper's team, and he had to go to try-outs (Cooper did not), leaving me home over the dinner and bedtime hour with 5 kids. Holy smokes.

Minnie is 7 months old, and in non-end-times, this solo parenting thing would be commonplace by now. Ben would work at an office. I would be shuttling kids to all manner of practices, etc. BUT also, they would be going to school, and I would have the whole day to work (with Minnie, of course, but she's the fifth baby-- I am used to it). As it is now, I am dealing with stressful, fragmented days, and the thought of solo night duty was/is overwhelming.

Baseball goes through July, and it's going to be a real pain in the ass.

I started by actually cooking dinner, which helped. Also I cooked it at like 9 am and we just reheated. I made a pan of fatty cheesy chicken, bean, and rice enchiladas for the kids, and I made these for Ben and me:

I used 80-calorie La Tortilla tortillas, a cup of kidney beans, 1.5 cups of roasted sweet potatoes, a can of Rotel, 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, and a small can of Old El Paso enchilada sauce. 1/3 of the sauce goes on the bottom of the baking dish. 1/3 goes in the filling with the beans, Rotel, potatoes, and 1/4 cup cheese). Then, you top the rolled up enchiladas with the other 1/3 c sauce and the other 1/4 cup cheese. Each enchilada was 170 calories. I topped mine with jalapenos, salsa, and sour cream, and they were great and so easy.

We played Incoherent Family Edition at dinner, and it was so fun-- this is a great game-- you should play it.

Sweet baby Minnie played lids while I cleaned the kitchen and broke up screaming fights.

Then we played 4 square and ate fudgesicles. Whoever was out in 4 square had to sit by Minnie on a blanket away from the ball.

When we could not stand Dorothy screaming anymore about getting out, we took Beatrix for a walk:

Then Minnie watched me take a shower

I gave her and Dorothy a simul-bath, and by the time I needed to nurse Minnie to sleep, Ben was home.

Easy peasy.